Astronomy Picture of the Day

    Discover the cosmos! Each day a different image or photograph of our
      fascinating universe is featured, along with a brief explanation
                    written by a professional astronomer.

                                 2019 July 9

                     Birds During a Total Solar Eclipse
                  Image Credit & Copyright: Leonardo Caldas

   Explanation: What do birds do during a total solar eclipse? Darkness
   descends more quickly in a total eclipse than during sunset, but
   returns just as quickly -- and perhaps unexpectedly to the avians --
   just a few minutes later. Stories about the unusual behavior of birds
   during eclipses have been told for centuries, but bird reactions were
   recorded and studied systematically by citizen scientists participating
   in an eBird project during the total solar eclipse that crossed the USA
   in 2017 August. Although some unusual behaviors were observed, many
   observers noted birds acting like it was dusk and either landing or
   flying low to the ground. Radar confirmed a significant decrease in
   high-flying birds and insects during and just after totality.
   Conversely, several sightings of normally nocturnal birds were
   reported. Pictured, a flock of birds in La Serena, Chile flew through
   the air together during the total solar eclipse that crossed South
   America last week. The photographer captured the scene in frames from
   an eclipse video. The next total solar eclipse in 2020 December will
   also cross South America, while in 2024 April a total solar eclipse
   will cross North America from Mexico through New England, USA.

        Gallery 2019: Notable total eclipse images submitted to APOD
                     Tomorrow's picture: 4000 exoplanets
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       Authors & editors: Robert Nemiroff (MTU) & Jerry Bonnell (UMCP)
            NASA Official: Phillip Newman Specific rights apply.
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